The 2016 Flanagan Syrah Bennett Valley opens with notes of white pepper, cherry blossom, and Bay Leaf. The palate has ripe black fruit, bacon fat, and Herbs de Provence with a surprising amount of tannin structure for New World Syrah. The wine is ripe and generous and retains great acids. The small berries produced from the steep, volcanic hillside site gives the wine great color and concentration.
This is a wine that can stand proudly with top Syrah from around the world.
Vineyard Notes
From the original Flanagan homesite on Serenity Way in the hills of Bennett Valley. The 2016 Vintage provided a modest crop of excellent fruit. The 2016 vintage was characterized by a cooler growing season than 2015 so the wines in 2016 are, in general, more focused. The cooler temperatures in 2016 meant grapes tended to ripen at lower Brix levels and lower pHs than they did in 2015.